Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is always celebrated on the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar and this year it is on Monday February 8 .

The day it falls on differs each year but is usually between January 21 and February 20.

Each Chinese New Year is represented by one of the 12 creatures in the Chinese Zodiac and 2016 is the year of the monkey.

If you were born in 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004, this is your year.

What are the origins of Chinese New Year?

There are various stories about the origins. One says that in pre-modern times, Chinese New Year would signal to farmers that they would have to begin preparations for the sowing of their fields.

Other stories say it is a time to honour household and heavenly deities and ancestors and to bring family together to feast.

Chinese New Year falls according to the Chinese calendar. Oracle bones have been found that are inscribed with astronomical records which date back as early as 14th century B.C. when the Shang Dynasty was in power.

The Chinese calendar wasn’t static and it was reset according to which emperor held power. It’s lunar phases were ruled by the Chinese zodiac, the cycle of twelve stations or signs and each new year was marked by the characteristics of one of the 12 animals; the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Chinese New Year

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Traditionally, for Chinese people, New Year was the most important festival - businesses would come to a stop and nearly everything would shut in preparation.

Cleaning was meant to appease the gods who would be coming down from heaven to make inspections while sacrifices of food and paper icons were offered to gods and ancestors.

Those celebrating also posted scrolls with lucky messages written on them on household gates and set off firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits.

A huge part of New Year’s Eve was eating, and extended family would gather around a table for a meal that included a last course of fish that was symbolised abundance and was not meant to be eaten.

In the first five days of the New Year, people ate long noodles to symbolise long life, and on the 15th and final day of the New Year, they would eat round dumplings shaped like a full moon to signify family units and perfection.

In 1996, China imposed a week-long holiday which is now called Spring Festival giving people the opportunity to travel home and to celebrate the new year.